Havuç mücveri

I first had carrot fritters at Dai Pera, a pretty little restaurant in Beyoğlu specialising in ev yemekleri or Turkish home-style cooking. It is run by one of Istanbul’s growing band of female restaurateurs, the lovely Arzu Gürdamar.

Ingredients

Quantity

Ingredient

1 teaspoon

cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon

coriander seeds

250g

carrot, coarsely grated

2

large spring onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons

dill, finely chopped

1 tablespoon

flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1/2

lemon, finely zested

100g

crumbled feta

freshly ground black pepper

100g

plain flour

1/2 teaspoon

baking powder

3

eggs, beaten

vegetable oil, for deep frying

salt

Method

In a dry pan, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until they just release their scent. Take off the heat straight away and grind to a powder with a pestle and mortar.

Mix the carrot and spring onion with the dill, parsley, lemon zest, ground spices and feta. Taste and season as necessary. Then add the flour, baking powder and eggs. Mix thoroughly. The mixture should be firm enough to stick together. Add a tablespoon of flour if it’s too wet.

Heat the oil for deep-frying until shimmering and a cube of day-old bread sizzles and browns in 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to medium. Using a dessert spoon, scoop the mixture into rough patties and slide into the hot oil, carefully, in batches. Cook for 2 minutes if you like a soft centre, or 3 minutes for an extra-crisp shell and firm centre. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Serve hot.

If you prefer to shallow-fry the fritters, shape the mix into flat patties and cook in about 1 cm of hot vegetable oil. Allow them to fully brown before flipping them over, otherwise they will fall apart.